Thursday, August 30, 2007

Here are some perspectives on the Larry Craig situation from newspapers in New York:

From the Staten Island Advance, the paper's Deputy Editorial Page Editor writes, "The Idaho senator is not just any old conservative Republican. Nope, he is one of the most vocal ones when it comes to family values and is one of the generals in the political party's war against the so-called gay agenda."

The New York Post writes in an editorial, "Craig's sexual orientation doesn't really matter. But his guilty plea and subsequent conviction take his irresponsible and distasteful actions to a whole new level."

In Newsday, James Pinkerton (a Republican and former George H. W. Bush advisor) suggests that, "the gay left and libertarians should not over-interpret the results of what happened here. The country, in its basic conservative wisdom, still wants to see order maintained - on the streets, on the border and in men's rooms."

Former New York City Parks Commissioner Henry Stern writes in the New York Sun: "If the facts are as has been stated by the press, there is nothing that should compel Mr. Craig's resignation from the Senate. He has a right to be judged by the electors, not be hounded from office by self-appointed judges who may be bigger hypocrites than Mr. Craig is."

In other news...

David Mixner has a nice item about Szetey Gabor, an openly gay member of parliament in Hungary, who is fighting for equality and justice for LGBT people in Central and Eastern Europe.

1 comment:

It is upsetting to see the coverage of the Craig scandal. Not just from the point of view of what actually occurred but from our communities missed opportunity. Here we have yet another politician, sexual pervert, deviant engaged or trying to be engaged in a lewd public act. The media coverage, like usual uses the “gay” perspective. Is it so hard for us in the LGBT community to fight back and explain once again that being gay is not about sex or perversion? I thought being gay was ones natural attraction to someone of the same sex. Having sex is not a requirement in being gay. Craig's bathroom “fling” is about being a deviant or not. It is in no way about someone being gay or straight. We in the LGBT community need to do more to help educate the general public. A pedophile who is a priest or a politician who is a sexual pervert are not members of our community. The straight community needs to get a better image of the LGBT community. We should speak out against linking our community to these scandals. And Joe as for your unscientific poll regarding foot tapping that your fellow gay New Yorkers were not familiar with; you need to ask New York sexual perverts if they know about the foot tapping in bathrooms. I am sure they unfortunately know all about it.